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Orrick Johns
by George J. Dance Orrick Glenday Johns (June 2, 1887 - July 8, 1946) was an American poet and playwright.Orrick Johns, Dictionary of Midwestern Literature, Volume I: The authors (edited by Philip A. Greasley). Indiana University Press, 2001, 288. Google Books, Web, May 11, 2015. Life Johns was born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1 of 6 sons of Minnehaha (McDearmon) and George Sibley Johns. At 7 years of age he was hit by a runaway trolley car, and lost a leg. Bedridden for some time, he became a voracious reader. After briefly attending Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Missouri, he worked as the drama critic for Reedy's Mirror, a St. Louis-based literary magazine.Orrick Johns, Greenwich Village Bookshop Door, University of Texas. Web, May 11, 2015. At Reedy's he became friends with Sara Teasdale and Zoë Akins. Johns moved to New York City in 1911 to further his writing career. His poem "Second Avenue" won 1st prize in a major poetry contest hosted by a new anthology, The Lyric Year, in 1912. However, the award caused a scandal, as many critics declared the winner should have been 4th-place "Renascence", by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Johns himself reportedly offered Millay his prize money,Melissa Bradshaw, "Performing Greenwich Village Bohemianism," Cambridge Companion to the Literature of New York (edited by Cyrus R.K. Patell & Bryan Waterman), Cambridge University Press, 2010, 153. Google Books, Web, May 11, 2015. decided in protest not to attend the awards ceremony, and called his win "as much of an embarrassment to me as a triumph."Ross Wetzsteon, Republic of Dreams: Greenwich Village: The American Bohemia, 1910-1960, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003, 241. Google Books, Web, May 11, 2015. Johns published a novel and 2 collections of poetry while in New York. He also wrote a play, The Charming Conscience, which was a hit when produced in California in 1923. In New York Johns met and married Margarite Frances "Peggy" Baird. After their marriage fell apart, he went to Europe in 1926, spending the next 3 years there. On his return he settled in Carmel, California, where he became editor of a weekly newspaper, The Carmelite. He married Caroline Blackman, a former friend from St. Louis, who bore him a daughter, Charis, in 1930. After Caroline was hospitalized for depression, Charis was taken to live with her grandmother. Johns became an active member of the Communist Party in the 1930's. He wrote for The Daily Worker, and became an editor of New Masses. He helped organize the 1935 American Writers' Congress, then joined the Federal Writers Project in New York City, becoming its director (a job from which he resigned in 1937). After his second wife died, Johns married Doria Berton, who gave him a second daughter, Deborah. He died in Danbury, Connecticut, committing suicide by poison. Recognitition Johns is mentioned in Kenneth Rexroth's poem, "Thou Shalt Not Kill", as "hopping into the surf on his one leg".Orrick Glenday Johns, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation. Web, May 11, 2015. Publications Poetry *''Asphalt, and other poems. New York: Knopf, 1917. *Black Branches, A book of poetry and plays. New York: Pagan, 1920. *''Wild Plum: Lyrics. New York: Macmillan, 1926. Novel *''Blindfold''. New York: Lieber & Lewis, 1923. Non-fiction *''Time of Our Lives: The story of my father and myself''. New York: Stackpole, 1937. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Orrick Johns. WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 11, 2015. Poems by Orrick Johns #The Door See also * List of U.S. poets References External links ;Poems *Little Things" *"Olives", Flarf. *"Songs of Deliverance" in The New Poetry: An anthology: "The Song of Youth," "Virgins," "No Prey Am I" *Johns in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "Songs of Deliverance," "Sister of the Rose," "The Rain," "The Haunt," "Old Youth," "The Door," "The Tree Toad," "The Horns of Peace," "Dilemma," "Bess" ;Books *Orrick Johns at Amazon.com ;About *Orrick Johns at the Greenwich Village Bookshop Door ;Etc. *Collection of letters from Sara Teasdale to Orrick Johns. Category:1887 births Category:1946 deaths Category:American poets Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:Writers from Missouri Category:People from St. Louis, Missouri Category:Writers who committed suicide Category:Suicides in Connecticut Category:Poets who committed suicide